


love doesn't always last forever

by Misterdevere



Series: what’s life without love [14]
Category: Kingsman (Movies)
Genre: Divorce, Heartbreak, M/M, Separations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:22:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26072599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Misterdevere/pseuds/Misterdevere
Summary: All good things come to an end
Relationships: Merlin/Gary "Eggsy" Unwin
Series: what’s life without love [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1868476
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	love doesn't always last forever

Eggsy and Merlin were taken aback to see Leo on their doorstep at 10pm with his five-year-old hanging onto one hand and his three-year-old resting on the other hip, each with their own backpacks on. His lip trembled as he looked Eggsy in the eye. “Dad.”

“Come in, mate.” Riley went in ahead and Leo followed with Quinn snuggled close to him. Eggsy put on a grin for his granddaughters. “Hello, my girls. How you doing?” They both smiled sleepily at him. “Tired?”

They nodded and Merlin took them both from Leo. “Come on girls, let’s go and get some jim jams on.”

Leo accepted a tight hug from his dad and when they were tucked into bed in his old room, he went to kiss his daughters goodnight. “Night, my lovely girls. You want grandpop to read you a bedtime story?” He looked at Merlin. “Do you mind?”

“Course not, lad.” Leo nodded gratefully and left them to it. He barely got three pages in before the girls were asleep anyway, then quietly closed the door behind him and tiptoed back down to the living room, where Leo was folded on the sofa with tears numbly falling from his eyes and Eggsy was rubbing soothingly at his shoulder. He stroked a hand over Leo’s head as he passed to sit down too. “They’re sound asleep.”

“What’s going on, mate?”

“Everything’s fucked up. George has spent all our money and I’ve been so fucking stupid.”

“Woah, what do you mean she’s spent all your money?”

“She’s been gambling again, she lost her job for going on betting sites at work, she’s taken pretty much all the money out of our savings account, she’s emptied the savings accounts I set up for the girls, taken out loans. I was so stupid, I didn’t check the account. I thought after last time, she was doing better.” She’d gambled before, when Riley was just a baby, had built up a small amount of debt that Leo had helped pay off and sworn off it. He was furious at being kept in the dark but forgave her and stuck by her for the love of his wife and the good of their little girl. “I thought things were going well with her therapy and that, turns out she hasn’t even been going. We’re gonna lose the house, my babies are gonna lose their home.”

“That ain’t right, there must be something we can do.”

Leo shook his head. “I’m leaving her, dad. I can’t afford to buy her out, I can’t afford to pay the mortgage on my own. We’re gonna have to sell it and I won’t get enough out of it to put down a deposit on another place even if I could get a mortgage by myself, which I can’t. It’s all fucked up.”

“We can help. We can pay half the mortgage, help you out with a deposit, whatever you need.”

“I can’t get you to commit to that. That’s a crazy amount of money and Merlin will be retiring in a couple of years. If anything happens with my job or yours, I can’t have you stuck with my mortgage.”

“Then move into my old house,” Merlin suggested softly. “The current tenants are moving out at the end of next month and I haven’t found anyone to move in yet. You could live there, stay here until it’s ready.”

“I can’t afford the rent on that place.”

“Don’t be daft, lad, I don’t want you to. Even if you can find a place big enough that you can afford to rent, you won’t be able to save anything and you’ll never be able to buy a place again. If you stay there, you can save up and you and the girls have somewhere safe and stable to live for as long as you need.”

“But you’ll lose the income on it. You’ve got Frankie, you’ve got a kid in the house to think about.”

Eggsy brushed it off. “We can manage without it. We’ve got two kids to think about, and two grandkids. Do as you’re told, will you? Take the house.”

“It won’t be for long, just til I can get us our own place again.”

“As long as you need.” Merlin was firmer that time. “Take care of your family, there’s no need to rush yourself.”

“Thank you, so much. Don’t know what to say.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“We’re gonna be under your feet if we stay here til then though.”

“It’ll be fine. Kinda miss having proper little ones running round. We’ve still got Frankie’s toddler bed for Quinn, Riley can sleep in your old bed and we can bring her bed over to swap for the desk in the office. I know that’s pretty much all that fits in there but if you don’t mind putting up with that for a month, at least the girls will have their own room. Might help with custody stuff if any of that kicks off before you move into your own place.”

Leo groaned. “Speaking of that, I’ll need to find a solicitor. I know they always give kids to the mums but I’m not having that. She can take my money and my house away from me but there ain’t a fucking chance she’s taking my kids from me, not after what she’s done to us.”

“I’m not sure they would give them to her but course, we’ll help you find someone good.” Eggsy pulled him into a hug. “You’re always gonna be our little boy, and the girls are always gonna be our babies too. We will always, always do anything and everything we can for you.”

“I feel like I’ve failed, like I’ve let them down. They were supposed to grow up in a happy family, have two parents that would do anything for them, that could put a fucking roof over their heads and provide for them. I wasn’t supposed to have to take them away from their mum and come running back to my fucking parents’ house. Me and George were supposed to be together for the rest of our lives. Now I’ve got a failed marriage, I have to explain to my kids that mummy and daddy aren’t gonna live together any more and you’ve gotta bail me out. I feel like such a fuckup.”

“You’re not. You haven’t let them down, lad. You’re doing the right thing for them, you have provided for them, you are and you will. And it never did you any harm not having two parents around all the time, did it?” Leo huffed our a soft laugh.

“You are such an amazing dad, I’m so proud of you. You’re doing what’s best for them. You haven’t failed because things didn’t work out with George. It’s sad but these things happen sometimes.”

“I love her but I can’t trust her, not again, not after this.” Leo shook his head. "I can't believe she'd do this."

“I know, mate. I’m sorry.” Eggsy pressed a kiss to his hair. “It’ll be alright, you’ll be okay.”

Merlin squeezed onto the sofa and put his arm around both of them, cuddling their boy between them. “We are truly sorry for what you’re going through. Just know that we’ll be here for you and the girls through all of it.”


End file.
